Devdutt Pattanaik’s black-and-white line drawings serve as visual conduits into his richly inclusive interpretations of mythologies from across the world. This is the first time his exhibition of artworks is happening. Effortless and immediate, these drawings unfold in real time, capturing the essence of his fluid and non-linear thinking. They are not merely illustrations but artworks in their own right. Pattanaik’s practice epitomizes the power of wandering paths, where critical insights emerge not from rigid logic and othering but from genuine inquiry and inclusion. These drawings invite us to meander across various mythologies - folk, mainstream, monotheistic, and occult - revealing their shared humanity and the rich interplay of beliefs that shape our understanding of the world. These drawings are both maps and mirrors, charting mythical landscapes while reflecting the universal truth that all important journeys, intellectual or spiritual, rarely follow a straight line.
Visuals: Animikh Chakrabarty and Sandipan
#DevduttPattanaik #Paintings #Painters #Craft #BengalBiennale #WestBengal #Shantiniketan #Art #Culture #Bengali #Heritage
Visuals: Animikh Chakrabarty and Sandipan
#DevduttPattanaik #Paintings #Painters #Craft #BengalBiennale #WestBengal #Shantiniketan #Art #Culture #Bengali #Heritage
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hi, my name is Devdutt Patnaik. I write on mythology, but I also illustrate my works and
00:05this is the first time I'm exhibiting my artwork at the Bengal Biennale at Shantiniketan.
00:11So I'm very excited to show my work.
00:30So, I write on mythology and mythology is communicated not just through stories, but
00:43also through symbols. And therefore, imagery is very important, artwork is important. There
00:47are many things you cannot communicate through words, so for which you need art. And therefore,
00:52I create a lot of artwork in my books and all my books and all my columns have my artwork.
00:57And I think through art, you approach the same subject very differently, different parts of
01:02your brain gets fired up. And I think this is important. That's why my style is very diagrammatic.
01:07So it's only black and white, very simple, very simple lines, trying to communicate something
01:12which is very deep. So it's my own style. It's influenced, of course, by many artists,
01:19from Mario Miranda, to the Patta Chitra paintings of India. You know, you'll see that both influence
01:25the traditional influence, you will see the modern influence of different artists who use
01:32black and white. And that's what I do. Every culture is trying to explain the world to its
01:38people, whether it's from Middle East, whether it is from Far East, whether it's from India,
01:43China, Japan, everywhere. So each one of them has stories, symbols and rituals. And I try to
01:49study all of them and try to compare and contrast them. And then you realize,
01:52for example, Western mythologies focus on one God, one life. Indian mythologies have many gods,
01:58many lives. Chinese philosophy don't care much about God or life, they focus on order and material
02:04order. So it's a very different way of looking at the world. And I think that is evident in the art,
02:10in the architecture, in their literature, in their rituals. And I'm trying to sort of
02:16express that in my way. I don't see myself as an artist, I see myself as a communicator of mythology.
02:23Writing is, of course, my primary way. Lectures are important part of it. For me, illustrations
02:27are always part of my books and my columns. But the Bengal Biennale invited me and they said,
02:32you know, my work deserves to be presented in a particular way. And, you know, I got,
02:39you know, I have an architect friend called Kunal Shah, and he sort of said, I'll curate it for you.
02:44I couldn't do this on my own. I don't understand this world of space and light and production.
02:50So he said very kindly that he'll do it. And then I said, Okay, so you know, if I didn't get help,
02:55I don't think I can do it myself. You know, you need people who are experts in this field.
03:00And I think it's come out quite well. And I've got a good response. I'm very happy.